Something Lost, Regained
by nadagio
Summary: OoT AU. One-shot. Zel/Gan. Having made a foolish mistake, Zelda tries to improve Hyrule's fate... by offering her wisdom to the Dark King.


**Something Lost, Regained**

* * *

Zelda was nine and the annual ceremony of peace had just ended. The guards who witnessed it were ignorant of the meaning behind the presentation of the Spiritual Stones and just how powerful the Stones truly were. They did not know how vulnerable the ceremony left Hyrule each year.

But Zelda knew, as did the leaders of the Gorons, Zoras, and Kokiri.

That very power and vulnerability was precisely why the ceremony existed, why it meant so much to them. Zelda had been tasked with protecting the sacred Ocarina of Time and knew exactly what could happen if someone were to take it from her on such an occasion when the Stones were gathered.

But Zelda was also very curious. The Triforce had been a source of awe and wonder to her since she first heard the stories years ago. A recent dream had only heightened that curiosity, in which she saw herself there, in the Temple of Time, with the Sacred Stones gathered and the doors to the Sacred Realm wide open. It was a vision she was unable to dispel or ignore.

And so she waited after the ceremony, hiding as the various diplomatic guests vacated the Temple. Until she was alone.

Zelda stood, gleeful with anticipation as she approached the alter and regarded the Stones. They were beautiful, and she could feel their ancient magic resonating in the air.

Something led her to hesitate as she removed the Ocarina from the folds of her dress, some greater wisdom that urged her to stop, telling her that this was foolish. But she was guided by an impulsive, childish curiosity and mischievous nature. Certainly there could be no harm in taking a peek at the fabled Triforce? She was not evil and had no intention of stealing it for herself.

Leaving such a powerful tool as the Ocarina in the hands of a young girl was perhaps not the wisest decision the King of Hyrule had ever made.

She raised the instrument to her lips and deftly manipulated the air to perform a very special tune. To her it had been a lullaby, but she knew its power was greater than that.

Feeling delightfully naughty, she watched as the doors rumbled open and giggled as she ran into the dark chamber.

In the center of the chamber was a raised platform containing a sword. Nothing else.

She regarded it with confusion. Was this not the Sacred Realm? Where was the Triforce?

But to her, a sword seemed a delightful consolation prize. Thinking to practice a few swings against an imaginary foe as she did frequently (and was scolded for) in the guards' armoury, Zelda approached the sword and pulled it from the stone pedestal.

...At which point she found herself engulfed in light.

The next few minutes were a blur. Later she would faintly recall a dark place, meeting a man, reaching for a bright, golden triangle...

"_You should not have come..._" a voice echoed in her mind as she woke sometime later in the Temple of Time. Zelda was startled and worried to find a brand on the back of her hand. The symbol of the Triforce.

'_What have I done?_' she thought with dread.

* * *

Some distance away in a desert kingdom, a young king dropped his book with a start after feeling a burning sensation on the back of his hand.

He had not been invited to the ceremony of peace, although the Gerudo had been invaluable in helping Hyrule's king win the war. He was unaware of the slight due to the secrecy of the ceremony, but he would not have been at all surprised to have learned of it. The Gerudo were hated and regarded as dirty thieves by outsiders. This image was not helped by the fact that they did, in fact, steal.

In recent times theft would not have been necessary if the King of Hyrule had honoured his war-time agreement to aid the Gerudo in times of need. And at present they were very needy indeed. A long and terrible draught had stricken the desert and their already scarce resources of food and water had run dry.

The Gerudo king had attempted to reason with Hyrule, but succeeded only in removing himself further from their favour. The two kings were on poor terms.

But _this_ young king had the beginnings of a plan. A plan that would unfortunately require him to swallow his pride and _apologize_ for his 'selfish demands,' ingratiate himself with Hyrule, and potentially threaten many of Hyrule's inhabitants. But it was a plan that he thought may work.

Possible, unforeseen consequences were not a concern. His concern, as it always had been, was the welfare of his people.

So when Ganondorf, King of the Gerudo, looked at his hand and saw the unmistakable symbol of the Triforce...

He laughed. Loudly, and with delight. For a good, long time.

* * *

Meanwhile, deep in the Kokiri Forest a boy regarded his own hand with curiosity. He soon decided to seek out the Great Deku Tree to discover what it might mean.

After going through a few trials to satisfy another Kokiri boy he finally reached the forest clearing.

The village's guardian sighed heavily upon learning what concerned the boy.

"It is an ill omen," the Tree told him. "Of evil things approaching. But now... there is little thee can do. You are so young... Wait. Thy time will come."

The Deku Tree then provided him with a fairy guardian named Navi. Puzzled, young Link returned to his home to 'wait' as the Deku Tree bade him.

* * *

Impa was concerned for her royal charge. The girl had been frightfully solemn the past few weeks. Where once she would giggle and tease, and at times act a terrible hellion... she now sat silently in contemplation. Zelda had begun to wear gloves as well, although Impa did not think to note this as significant or related.

Efforts to pry from the girl what ailed her proved unsuccessful.

And then one day Zelda became animated, or what might pass for it after her recent behaviour. The princess entered her garden and watched as visiting royalty took audience with the King. It was the leader of the Gerudo, come again to demand resources for his people. He did not kneel or even bow as he should have when greeting the King in his own kingdom.

'The man is as arrogant as ever,' Impa thought, 'and without any sense of diplomacy.'

The King, of course, refused. But instead of becoming angry the Gerudo thief laughed and strolled from the throne room without waiting to be dismissed. He left a warning threat echoing about the room. The King remained unconcerned.

Zelda, however, hastened to approach her father.

"You must accommodate him, father," the young princess entreated, "Or terrible things will come, all the sooner for your refusal."

"Nonsense," the King said boisterously, "That man says great things, but he doesn't have it in him to follow through. You don't know Ganondorf like I do, Zelda."

"But, father-"

"Don't you have lessons to attend to?" he said with a smile, beckoning Impa forward. Taking his cue, the Sheikah nursemaid guided her charge from the room and ignored the girl's fearful protests.

Zelda slipped into a deeper depression.

* * *

A fortnight later the Gerudo king returned, accompanied by warriors of his people and strange, dark creatures. No one had ever seen their like but were instinctively frightened. For good reason. It didn't take the small army long to fight to the castle, easily defeating the soldiers and guards made weak by years of peace.

The King was slain by Ganondorf. Zelda heard the news from Impa and was sad but could not cry. She had warned him and spent the days since then already in mourning.

Some Gerudo women came to escort the young princess to Hyrule's new king. The man sat in the same throne her had father sat in just the day before. Zelda approached him, frightened and furious but struggling to hide it, and dipped into a small curtsy. To act according to her feelings would have only brought more disaster.

The man grinned at her show of respect and studied her curiously. Her pale skin, pointed ears, blue eyes, and blonde hair. She studied his features in return. They were just as foreign to her. His dark, olive skin; rounded ears; piercing, yellow eyes; and fiery, red hair.

"Your are Zelda," he said and she nodded. "The smart thing would be to kill you now and make certain there are no legitimate claims to my new throne," the Gerudo told her, almost conversationally. Zelda shivered, suppressing a cry. "But I think I've had enough blood-shed, today."

The young princess relaxed minutely and the man laughed. It was a dark, resonant sound that filled her with dread.

"Glad, are you? I imagine I would be similarly relieved, in your place." He regarded her seriously. "I want you to know that I have no intention of being a brutal or unjust king. Hyrule is my kingdom now and I plan to take that responsibility seriously, just as I have done my best to be a good king to the Gerudo. Try to usurp me, however, and I _will_ kill you."

"The best intentions can lead to the worst of tragedies," Zelda told him. "You may intend to stop, but Power consumes."

The King frowned, looking thoughtful.

"I suppose I will just have to convince you through my actions, then," he said.

Zelda shrugged helplessly.

"In any case," the man continued, "I'll allow you to remain in this castle so long as you do not attempt to leave it. Escape, or the attempt of it, will be regarded as treason and I shall be forced to execute you. Do you understand?"

She nodded.

"Good. Nabooru?"

One of the Gerudo women who had escorted her previously nodded and guided Zelda back to her own room where Impa paced anxiously.

"Thank the Goddesses," the Shiekah cried and enfolded Zelda in a hug. "I feared you might be dead." Her fear must have been great for the normally stoic woman to have displayed it outwardly.

Impa waited impatiently for the Gerudo women to leave. Once they had she whispered,

"I have already begun to prepare for our departure. We're leaving tonight."

"The King will follow and have no mercy if he finds us," Zelda said miserably, with little hope of having her words heeded.

"That desert pig will never find us," Impa hissed.

They fled at nightfall, unpursued.

* * *

As the years went by the state of Hyrule grew bleak. Unsatisfied with being king of the Hylian people, Ganondorf sought to bring the other races to heel. He conquered those who had refused to acknowledge him as King or do trade. And once the Kokiri's protector was dead, the Zora's river frozen, and the Gorons' mines blocked, he turned outward to distant kingdoms.

Hyrule was in a perpetual state of war, its citizens plagued by hunger, famine, and roaming, evil creatures. The sky was forever dark. Zelda remained outwardly stoic as she witnessed the change although inwardly she wept. She spent the years under the tutelage of Impa, learning the ways of the Sheikah and thinking deeply. Contemplating what she had to do.

Given the choice between a land utterly destroyed by thoughtless Power or a land under the brutal control of Power but guided by Wisdom... it was clearly no choice at all. And Courage was not the solution, she'd Seen. His plan-the Sages' plan-would only postpone the disaster, bringing destruction to their descendents.

It was difficult for her to come to terms with the necessity of her interference. For years she stubbornly held the hope that there was another way, that she need not submit to the man of her nightmares.

Could she do it? Wisdom insisted that she could and should. Eventually her hope died and her inner protests waned.

So. She would return to Hyrule. Return to _him_.

And then as Impa reluctantly prepared to leave her in order to attend to her ailing village, having taught Zelda all that she could... Zelda knew it was time to return.

Impa left and Zelda returned to Hyrule in a Sheikah disguise. Castle Town was dark and empty, overtaken by evil creatures. The castle was simply... gone. In its place: a monstrous structure hovered over a lake of molten lava. Dark clouds gathered at its spire.

Zelda entered, assisted by her magic, and slowly navigated her way to the throne room past obstacles, traps, and guards. Clearly, this was a man who did not want to be interrupted unexpectedly. Instead of a throne, the far wall of the room was instead overtaken by a large pipe organ. Here the King sat.

His music was haunting. Dark, angry, painful to listen to. If music were a window to the soul, then Ganondorf's was furious and anguished.

'He is just a man,' she told herself firmly, but it was untrue. He was much more than a man. He held Power. He was her father's murderer, and he had murdered countless more, since. All that prevented her body from shaking fearfully was the calm assurance of Wisdom. Zelda grasped at it like a lifeline, drinking its soothing tranquility like a woman parched.

Some part of her faded to a whimpering shadow in the corner of her mind. Wisdom took control.

Zelda approached silently. He stopped playing abruptly when she came within ten feet.

"Who are you?" the King questioned. His tone said that should she make a sudden, wrong move he would kill her.

Zelda said nothing and he stood to look at her with anger. The organ disappeared, replaced by an intimidating throne.

"A Sheikah?" He sounded confused, but no less threatening. "If you're here to beg me to save your village, it is futile."

She silently removed the rags covering her face and hair and the spell concealing her eye colour. She waited.

"You're not..." he snarled, and realization dawned as he studied her features. "Princess... Zelda?"

She nodded and his scowl grew fiercer.

"Then you're here to challenge me for the throne," he said, and a large sword materialized in his hand.

Zelda shook her head, raising her empty hands smoothly in a gesture of peace.

"I am not. I am here to offer you something you desire," she told him, removing her glove and lifting her hand, prompting the symbol of her gift to glow. "Wisdom."

Ganondorf took an unconscious step forward, eyes wide. And then he halted, glaring.

"And in return?" he sneered.

"Nothing." The King scoffed. "I cannot actually give you the Triforce of Wisdom," she said, "So my offer is more of a request. That I may remain here, by your side, and advise you to the best of my ability."

He laughed.

"So you want to control me! I'm not such a fool that-"

"No," she interrupted firmly. "I will only speak what, in my mind, is wisdom that would most serve you and your goals. It is entirely in your power to ignore or heed my advice."

"And why should I _need_ your advice?"

"Where are the Gerudo now?" Zelda questioned softly. It seemed a non sequitor, but she knew the topic of his peoples' contempt for him to be very relevant.

Ganondorf visibly recoiled and lifted his arm as though to do her physical harm.

...It appeared to take everything in him to breathe deeply and accept her words as deserved truth. He lowered the arm slowly.

The Dark King frowned in contemplation.

"And your reasons for doing this?" he asked.

"Are my own," Zelda said, ignoring his angry glare.

They stared at each other silently for a while until he said with a wan smirk,

"Think of this as a trial run, then. Why should I not kill you now and take Wisdom by force?"

"Because it is impossible," she answered evenly. "The Triforce cannot be combined without the third, and neither of us know the location of Courage. Killing me would only serve to move Wisdom to another bearer, someone unknown."

Ganondorf huffed and finally released his sword. The blade disappeared into nothing as it dropped.

"Very well then. But if you attempt to leave, I will kill you. And I will know. So you should hope you're better at staying put now than you were as a child," he growled, conjuring the organ again and taking a seat at the keyboard.

Zelda joined him on the bench with a small smile. He looked at her oddly before beginning to play.

To her discerning ears, the music was slightly less melancholy. Nervous, but hopeful.

* * *

Zelda's value was first put to the test when a messenger from a distant, conquered land told Ganondorf that his people could not afford to relinquish any more rice.

"There was a crop failure," he stammered. "Most of it is gone... P-pardon me, Your Majesty, but we will starve..."

"What do I care if your damned peasants starve?" the King snarled, "I'm of a mind to kill every damned one them myself if they don't give me what they _do_ have! Tell them _that_, and if you come back empty handed again, I'll bring your body to them in pieces to gnaw on!"

Zelda cleared her throat delicately, and he whirled to face her, the very picture of fury.

"Are you sure that's wise?" she asked lightly. "You will certainly get no more use from the land if everyone that once managed it is dead."

His first instinct was to snap at her, smack her, _something..._ but Ganondorf's reason forced him to consider her point and agree.

"I... yes-you're right," he said reluctantly, taking a deep breath and struggling to suppress his blood-lust. There was a time, once, when there would need be no discussion. When he could still make rational decisions and not be influenced by Power.

"I understand," the girl told him quietly, and Ganondorf was startled to feel her small hands upon his shoulder blades. When had she approached him? "It must be difficult to fight it still, after all this time..."

He tensed and turned to her in a rage.

"You understand _nothing_!"

But he could not face those knowing, accepting eyes with hatred. So he looked away, burning with resentment and shame.

Zelda did not try to correct him, she only stood beside him, palm at his elbow. Her mere presence was a comfort, a balm to his tortured soul and frazzled mind.

Is it any wonder that he quickly came to adore her?

* * *

"Where is Courage?" he asked one evening as they were dining. Ganondorf rarely let her out of his sight any more. Zelda's composure was frequently all that kept him feeling sane.

Courage was a minor curiosity by then. Why covet Courage when Power and Wisdom were already within his grasp? He wanted it, yes, as he wanted everything. But it was a controllable desire when he knew that soon the entire world would be his.

"The bearer will come," Zelda told him with certainty. Courage would make sure of it.

"Oh? How polite," Ganondorf said, "And convenient, not to make me search for it, myself. Perhaps I will allow the bearer a feast, in thanks, before I take it, and his life, from him." He laughed, but did not speak of what might happen after he took the full Triforce, or what he might do if Zelda were without Wisdom. The thought was fleeting, to Zelda, and she forced it away immediately. Calm certainty replaced worry.

Zelda smiled and gracefully took his arm.

"It will be an occasion worth celebrating," she agreed.

* * *

"Marry me."

It was a demand, not a question or appeal. And an occasion long in coming. Zelda's presence soothed Power, yes, but sparked an entirely new sort of restlessness which Ganondorf could no longer ignore.

Her answer was delivered evenly, suggesting that she was unoffended by his brusque manner.

"Yes."

The King sealed the arrangement with a harsh kiss, his large hands grasping her shoulders so tight he surely left bruises. Something in both of them cried out in release at the gesture. When he pulled away Zelda stared at him with wide eyes, frightened, and uncertain. Calm no longer, but she was entirely focused on the present in a way he'd never seen.

She sobbed. Gandondorf felt that he could hardly breathe as he held her to his chest, as though bringing her closer could tame the fury he felt at her, himself, and the world.

To Zelda, the embrace was inexplicably soothing her fear and hatred. Here was a man equally as lost and powerless inside. Together in their shared misery, they could find solace.

* * *

Their wedding night was a long, sleepless marathon of brutal kisses and gasping pleasure. For a very short time after they felt entirely at peace, their minds quiescent and no longer tormented by tyrannical or prophetic thoughts.

* * *

"I had thought you'd be more... delicate in mind, a sheltered princess," Ganondorf told her as he was wiping the blood from his blade. Another failed assassination attempt against the Dark King. His minions dragged the mutilated body from the room. "I can't say I'm displeased to be proven wrong."

"I have not been sheltered for many years," she told him, completely unphased by the gore. She did not scream or protest or even whimper when her husband took a life. Wisdom spared her the horror. "If you'll recall, I was just nine when you murdered my father, and I've lived in the outside world since as it grew darker by the day."

There was no accusation in her voice, just fact.

"Hmm... So it doesn't bother you at all that the boy I just killed may have had a family?" he mocked, "May have had nothing but hope in his heart when he came, that at the end of the day a king of evil might have fallen? That tomorrow would be a brighter day, filled with sunshine and fairies?" Ganondorf chuckled.

Zelda looked beyond him, her eyes clouded with thought.

"Feelings... such as regret or horror, even sadness..." she says quietly, "These are difficult to feign, impossible to feel, when every thought is filled with possibilities, when every outcome is known, when the greater end is far more important than individual sacrifices..."

The King sobered as his wife approached and lay a hand on his cheek with a smile, ignoring the blood.

"We are not so different," Zelda told him. "Our very selves, our personalities, thoughts, and feelings, have been suppressed by forces much greater. I am as helpless as you, as unable to control it."

When their lips met, it seemed that something they had lost was for a brief time regained. An awareness of themselves and their surroundings, they found an honest_ feeling_ and _self_ again. Two desperate monarchs clung to each other for respite.

* * *

In the coming months, visiting dignitaries were greeted by a curious sight. The Dark King of Hyrule had taken a Hylian wife, and she had every appearance of being well-treated and kind.

The interaction of the royal couple was baffling. Although the new Queen was but a tiny wisp of a girl, she clearly commanded her husband's temper and actions. When the King snarled and seemed to be on the cusp of something rash, one look from his wife and he subsided, twitching and muttering grumpily.

He was like a barely tamed beast. The King's skin rippled as hardened muscles, just below the surface, readied themselves to strike as he paced down the length of the throne room, predatory. He wa_s _a beast, and the Queen held his leash. In that way, the worst of the Dark King's violence was controlled.

It astonished all who witnessed it. Yet if the dignitaries had any hope that the miraculous effects of this marriage might translate to peace between the warring nations, they were wrong.

Although the number of dark creatures roaming the kingdom lessened and the destruction of the armies' raids reduced, the Dark King had by no means halted his campaign to utterly dominate everything and everyone.

Any thoughts to appeal to the Queen were quelled by her steady gaze—calm, knowing, and entirely without mercy.

This new Queen, therefore, remained a passing curiosity and a source of rumour, but was not the saviour they might have first hoped.

* * *

Ganondorf came across her standing motionless in the hall.

"Zelda?" he prompted with a frown, yet she did not respond. The King came closer and looked into his wife's eyes. They were clouded and unfocused, observing something that he could not see.

"Zelda," he said again, stronger. Still, silence.

He shook her, becoming increasingly panicked at her state. Ganondorf was kneeling at her feet, arms around her knees, when Zelda finally came to awareness minutes later.

"Ganondorf?" she asked, her voice weak and confused. The Queen ran a gentle hand through the man's hair. "Are you all right?"

He laughed bitterly.

* * *

"Do you know why we received pieces of the Triforce?" he asked idly one evening in bed. She revealed to her husband the tale of her foolishness, of how the Triforce was split, and of their supposed destiny.

Ganondorf listened, accepting.

"How consumed are you, by Wisdom?" he questioned, not entirely sure he wanted to know the answer. Zelda looked up at him with bright eyes, understanding the unspoken concern.

"You mean, am I here because I want to be, or because it is wise to exert some positive controlling influence over your unbridled Power?"

Ganondorf nodded and she shifted closer, brushing her lips against his with a small smile.

"That is an interesting question, my King. Would you be satisfied if I said: both?"

He was not. So he attempted to assure himself of her feelings through physical means. It was unconvincing, but undeniably pleasurable.

* * *

And then the Hero finally came, his quest nearly complete. But his aim would never come to pass without her support and assistance. For all his good intentions, he was doomed to fail from the beginning.

Still, the Queen worried. Had she accounted for all of the variables? For all her knowledge and wisdom, people could still act contrary to prediction.

Their brands began to resonate and glow on each of their hands.

"So the Triforce is gathered at last," Ganondorf said with a smirk, facing the young man who was no older than Zelda. "I can feel it combining already..."

"And why are you here?" Zelda asked the Hero from her seat at the throne. She had to be sure.

"To defeat you in battle. With the help of the Sages I will vanquish you so that you'll never hurt anyone again," Link said, addressing the Dark King.

"So you've awakened the Sages?" she confirmed.

The Hero nodded, lifting the Master Sword. King Ganondorf conjured his own weapon and said,

"You haven't a chance." He lunged.

Her breath caught, and she feared that, despite everything, her plan would fall apart. Then Wisdom reassured her. Zelda accepted its calm gratefully and something of herself withdrew.

It would not seem a fair fight, at first glance, given Ganondorf's sheer size and strength, and his Power. But something in Link's agility and skill... and Courage, left them evenly matched.

Queen Zelda watched passively from her throne as they hacked away at each other with their swords, striking and blocking, neither managing to make a hit.

And then Ganondorf finally nicked a cut on Link's arm, and the King fell back with an exhilarated laugh. Link panted, taking the opportunity to rest.

"I shall dedicate his death to you, love," the King said to his wife, still chuckling. She smiled indulgently and stood to approach him. There was no reason to let things continue as they were. Thinking the Queen might bless him or offer some token of her favour, he stood tall. His grin was both blood-thirsty and affectionate.

As Zelda stood before Ganondorf and reached forth her hands, they glowed with a bright light that came to surround the King.

It was not a blessing, but a constraint.

The towering man, the absolute embodiment of strength and power, fell to his knees before her. Helpless, his face was contorted with pained betrayal. And Ganondorf keened. A high-pitched whine, incongruous with his fearsome appearance.

Link stood silently, confused and shocked, the Master Sword lowering. He had come expecting a terrible battle, one from which he might not recover or even emerge victorious. Instead, the enemy had turned inward and torn itself apart.

"Hush, my King," the Queen said, approaching the tormented man in his chains of pure Light. She lay a hand gently on his olive cheek, ignoring his attempts to throw her off. "You will understand, after a time, why this is necessary. And you will see... the pain will leave you, there. Power will make no demands. You will have peace."

Zelda's eyes filled with rare tears even as she smiled widely. Even as her husband, the Dark King, stared at her with angry, hate-filled eyes. Wisdom could not dampen her joy.

"_We_ will have peace. Together."

She turned to Link. The Hero was disconcerted to be the focus of this ethereal woman's attention.

"I am the Seventh Sage," the Queen informed him and lifted her arms gracefully, conjuring a powerful orb of light magic.

Link watched as the faint forms of the other six—of Ruto, Sariah, Rauru, Impa, Nabooru, and Darunia—appeared surrounding her. They transformed into balls of light energy of varying colours, combining to form a swirling portal of white light beneath Ganondorf.

Zelda stepped beside the fallen Gerudo king, laying a hand on his shoulder while he continued to struggle, panicked, against the magic that constrained him. The pair of them began to fade from view. Link took a hesitant step forward.

"Why-?" he began to ask. It was clear that Zelda was not the corrupt ruler he thought her to be. So why would she banish herself to the Sacred Realm with that monster?

"You could consider it penance," she told him, "For what my foolishness cost Hyrule. Yet truthfully..."

Zelda looked tenderly at the man kneeling beside her, snarling like a trapped animal. Everything that was _her_ was entirely present in that moment.

"I think it would be a great wrong to condemn a man, trapped by his circumstances and mortal flaws, to a hellish, endless existence alone, to be driven mad with hate and loneliness. Only more evil could stem from such a cruel act. Also-"

Her last words in that realm echoed strongly, even as the bearers of Wisdom and Power faded completely.

"I've come to love him."

Link was left alone in the throne room of the Dark King's castle, his grip on the Master Sword slack. He took a moment to mourn the lives of two monarchs, destined to be consumed by an ancient magic. He hoped that they would find peace.

And then he escaped the dark castle which crumbled in the absence of the man who created it. He stood beneath the open sky, blue for the first time in years, and breathed in hope and promise. He set off to begin another courageous journey: recovery.

It was the beginning of a long and prosperous era. Made possible only by one woman's wisdom, sacrifice... and love.

* * *

The End.

* * *

**A/N:** I haven't played this game in forever, so my apologies if anything is inaccurate to the game (even if it is AU.) But creative license and all that, yes?

I also drew a picture, and that can be found at nadagio . deviantart #/d38q1np


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